Crazy Captain Hanako
by SouthStar
Summary: Basically follows my OC, Hanako, as she becomes a 3rd Squad captain. Her shirking her duties, her violent mysterious "coughing" attacks, and her over-familiarness with everyone. Frequent flashbacks show the past. T for sticky "situations" 6 is up, R
1. Flashback 1 and Beginning

_"Kaien-nii! No! N-no! Please, no!" Tears streamed endlessly down Hanako Sakamoto's childish face. She hugged his body desperately, looking for some kind of life in him. A heartbeat, a shallow breathe, a small movement, anything would do for her. Kaien Shiba's body was marred, almost beyond recognition. Blood and obvious hollow attack markings were all over him. His eyes were open and lifeless, and his body was pale with loss of blood. "T-there's no way… it's impossible… Please, Sensei! Say it's not true! Please!" she screamed, pleading with Ukitake Jushiro. He looked down at her sadly, his own eyes filled with sorrow._

_"He protected his honor." He replied softly, hugging Hanako to him tightly. Hanako wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. Her bloody hands smeared red on his white captain's haori. But he didn't care. "He didn't die in vain…" he trailed off, not sure what else to say._

_"You don't understand! None of you understand! Nii-chan was….." Angrily, Hanako wiped the tears from her eyes and turning solemnly over to Kaien's corpse. "I promise you, Nii-chan, I swear, for you, that I will never be weak like they were! I will never let anyone I care about die! I will be strong for you." she declared, tears streaking down her face. She turned and ran off, not looking back._

_"Wait-" Ukitake said, starting after her. She couldn't do things like that! He reached out a hand and got ready to shunpo over._

_"Stop." Shunsui Kyoraku interrupted, pushing Ukitake's hand down. His pink kimono was fluttering in the cold breeze. His straw hat concealed his eyes. Ukitake sighed and turned away._

_Hanako ran away, as fast as she could. She couldn't believe it. There was no way. They were lying, it wasn't true. Nii-chan couldn't have died! Hanako tripped and fell on her face, sending her sprawling across the ground of the Rukongai forest._

_"Ow, dammit!" She shrieked, curling up in a tight ball and sobbing. Her body shuddered, rejecting the horrible picture. She wouldn't believe it. She coughed heavily, blood spurting out of her mouth. Her eyes closed tightly, so tight that they hurt._

_"It's true, Hanako-sama…" whispered Tengoku, her zanpakuto spirit. His long white hair swayed slightly in the wind, and his elegant frame was decorated by a pure white kimono. His pale, blue eyes looked on compassionately at his broken master._

_"Just move on, there ain't nothin' you can do about it!" Kyofu commented rudely. He was Hanako's other zanpakuto spirit. His short black hair was framing his face, and he, too wore a kimono, although his was worn loosely. He had black eyes and an irritated expression._

_"Kyofu!" Tengoku admonished, shocked. "Don't say such things! Especially when Hanako-sama is-"_

_"Is what! Weak? That won't happen anymore. I promise I won't be weak. I can't be weak. You're right, Kyofu, there isn't anything I can do about it. So I won't. I'm going to pretend like nothing happened! Isn't that a brilliant idea?" Hanako smiled, a crazy gleam in her eyes. Her delicate features were colored in blood, and her eyes told of a terrible sadness. She was so caught up in herself, she didn't notice the lone figure with short white hair standing behind the tree, feeling absolutely disgusted he couldn't do anything._

* * *

"Now, to our next order of business…" Captain-commander Yamamoto said, grabbing a few papers from his fukutaichou. "We have found a new captain for the 3rd division. Please welcome Sakamoto Hanako-taicho." All eyes turned to the entrance of the room and Hanako stepped confidently through the doors, her eyes meeting each and every one of the captains fearlessly. Her Shihakusho was neat pulled taught over her body, showing her young curves. Her light brown hair was loosely pulled back and fell around to frame her face. Her white captain's Haori was slightly too long for her childish body, and she had it folded back slightly so that the light green color was obvious. It set off her piercing green eyes well. But the most shocking about her appearance was her uncharacteristic smile.

"Sakamoto Yon-seki!" Ukitake gasped, his eyes widening. "I thought you disappeared 50 years ago!" he exclaimed. Kyoraku's eyebrows raised as well, but most of the other captains had no idea what the big deal was. All of them knew who she was, although she had been a quiet girl before.

"It's good to see you, Sensei!" she exclaimed, hugging him casually. The atmosphere tensed immediately. All the captain's stared openly at her, looking bewildered at the familiar way she approached a captain. Ukitake's eyes widened. Who was this? Certainly not Sakamoto!

"Hankao! What are you-" he started, only to be interrupted by Hanako.

"Just saying hi! Don't get all worried about it!" she explained, letting go of him and leaping across the room. "It's great to be back! I hope we still get along!" she said, smiling brightly and bowing politely.

"Hanako Sakamoto…" A short, white-haired child spoke up. It cut through the silence, making everyone's heads turn. "Where have you been? You disappeared…"

"Shiro-chan! I was on patrol with the Patrol Corps. I heard about Gin-ch... Gin and them and I decided to come help out!" she said brightly, seemingly completely oblivious to the outrageous way she was acting. Pretty much everyone noticed when she stumbled over Gin's name.

"Sakamoto, you shouldn't-"

"I shouldn't what?" she asked threateningly, a scary expression on her face. Everyone in the room felt her reiatsu increase greatly.

"Hey, I was just saying, no need to get-" Toshiro stopped, his eyes widening when he noticed for the first time that she had not one, but two zanpakuto hilts, although one seemed to be hidden away, since he couldn't see the bottom of it. "You have two?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes and I can use them, too, thanks to Sensei and K-sensei!" she said happily, and the other captains looked curiously at her, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Silence, child." Yamamoto chastised, looking across the room at all the captains. Hanako sighed quietly and nodded, taking her place at the front of the row next to Komamura.

"Hana! It is good to see you." Unohana welcomed quietly.

"You too," Hanako whispered cheerfully. Unohana looked at her strangely. Something was wrong with Hanako. She wasn't acting like her usual self.

When the meeting was over, Toshiro pulled Hanako over immediately. He could feel the eyes of the other captain's on him, but he needed to talk to her privately.

"What is it, Shiro?" she asked, slightly annoyed. "I was gonna go drink sake with K-sensei and Sensei." She sighed, looking at him.

"I just… Where the hell have you been, Sakamoto!" he asked, seemingly angry.

"I told you, I was with the Patrol Corps!" Hanako exclaimed. Then, taking on a darker tone, "There's nothing to worry about." She said lowly, and bounded back over to the two older men, seemingly back to her new façade. Toshiro looked back at her one more time before returning to his squad headquarters.

"I missed you so much, Sensei!" Hanako smiled, attaching herself to Ukitake's arm.

"You are so different, though…." He said, his eyes taking in her familiar appearance.

"Sensei, don't be naïve, a lot has happened since then." She said lowly, pulling him towards her own squad headquarters. "Please, let me treat you, I'm sure that we have something lying around here.

"No, we will come tonight, you need time to introduce yourself to your squad, first!" Kyoraku insisted, peeling Hanako off Ukitake. Hanako nodded and disappeared, performing a shockingly fast shunpo to get to her squad headquarters.

"She's different. Did Kaien Shiba's death shake her that much?" Kyoraku sighed, walking back to his squad's section with Ukitake.

"Yeah, I knew they were close, but… I guess she really got shaken up, didn't she? I wonder how the 3rd Squad is going to react to her." Ukitake wondered, splitting up with Kyouraku and going back to his squad, preparing for a particularly loud greeting from his two fuku-taichous.

* * *

"Hm… This place is kind of a dump, isn't it? I guess I'll have to see what I can do about that…" Hanako muttered, wandering through the general vincinity of the area where her squad was situated. "This place is way different from when Rose was here…" she continued her musings for a while, getting a general layout in her head.

Hanako arrived at the squad training room a while later, ready to check in on her squad members. The confusing layout of the buildings was now committed to memory, and she had discovered many little paths and hiding places along the way, which could be put into use later, when she was hiding from her fuku-taicho and the load of paperwork she would have to face. She put up a hand to knock on the door and made a split decision to do something else. She concealed herself right outside the window, hiding her Reiatsu in an attempt to keep her location secret.

What she saw shocked her. It was complete disorder. The fighting was all wrong, and their styles were sloppy. Outraged, she shunpoed around the building and burst through the door.

"What is going on! Is this a training session or a brawl?" she challenged, her hands on her hips.

"Why is that kid wearing a haori?" one of them muttered. Immediately, all the men and women in the room started talking amongst themselves, and a few even resumed their disorderly fights. A tiimd-looking man in the back wearing the fuku-taicho's badge was busy doing paperwork, and didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was going on in the room.

"ENOUGH!" Hanako yelled, releasing enough Reiatsu to make almost all the people in the room fall to their knees. "I was hoping for better than this." She muttered, walking around the room and looking around. There were only three people who hadn't fallen to their knees at the moment. One of them was the fuku-taichou. Now that she looked closer, he did look a bit familiar.

"Now, I am your captain, Sakamoto Hanako." She introduced herself formally, and then ruined the mood completely by leaning casually against the wall.

"Sakamoto-taichou, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention. It's just, that without a captain, the paperwork…" the fuku-taichou trailed off nervously as Hanako walked across the room towards him.

"Was being taken care of by you." Hanako finished for him. _And hopefully still will be! This guy looks like he can easily be taken advantage of..._ She finished silently in her head. "What's your name?" she asked, sitting on the desk and the paperwork he had so carefully completed.

"Izuru… Kira." He said quickly, standing up and knocking over the chair he had been sitting in and saluting.

"Why are you on your knees?" Hanako asked, irritated. "I'm not a queen you know." She exclaimed, looking over her squad members.

"Taichou, your Reiatsu is too high!" A young woman who hadn't fallen said daringly.

"Is it? I didn't notice, sorry!" Obviously surprised, Hanako lowered her Reiatsu to an almost undetectable level. "Is that better?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I am the 4th Seat, my name is Satsuki Rika." She bowed formally, not daring to look up at her new captain. She had bright red hair cut very short, and sharp brown eyes.

"And you must be the 3rd Seat?" Hanako asked, glancing at a young man with short black hair.

"Yes ma'am! I'm Karasuma Kain." He replied automatically, saluting her sharply.

"Great! And you guys must be my squad? Stand up!" Hanako suddenly whirled around to address her squad. They reluctantly stood up.

"Now, what kind of respect should you have for a captain?" Hanako asked, cruelly staring down each and every person for a few long seconds each. A lot of them shifted uncomfortably. "Certainly not the way you treated me? As a punishment, all of you, with the exception of Kain-kun, Rika-chan, and Kira, will take over all of the Squad 4 cleaning duties for the next week! Now go report to Unohana!" Hanako ordered and shooed the rest of the squad out of the room. They reluctantly headed out of the room.

"Alright, let's take a look at all that paperwork…" Hanako pushed off the desk. "Why is there a desk in the training room, anyways? Kira, move it out tonight, okay?" she 'requested', smiling. She walked out of the room and across the street outside to another building that was the Squad Barracks. She slid open the door and walked into the room slowly.

"Finally! Someone responsible to get everything done!" Rika whispered to Kain excitedly. Kain nodded, unsure.

"Satsuki-san… She called me Kain-kun… And you Rika-chan… Isn't that a little too casual, considering we've only known each other for five minutes?" he whispered back doubtfully.

"This is your office." Kira opened a door, revealing a room filled to the brim with paperwork. Hanako jumped.

"Oh, damn, look at the time! I promised Jushiro and Shunsui I'd have a drink with them, so, uh, I gotta go!" Hanako rushed her excuse, "You guys take care of it for me! That's an order!" she exclaimed, suddenly disappearing as she shunpoed to the Squad 13 Barracks 3 hours earlier than expected.

"Hm…. I wonder just how childish she is? And she's having a drink with the 10th and 13th Squad Taichou? She looked 13 to me…" Kain sighed.

"Satsuki-yonseki, you do that side, I'll do this side. Karasuma, you take the middle." Kira ordered, sighing and getting to work on a stack of paper. "If there's something that only she can do than we'll give it to her later…" he muttered, taking out a pen. The other two cursed their luck as they stared at a few years worth of unfinished paperwork. They were in for a long night.

* * *

**OKAYZ! Here is the first one! I'm super excited for this! Me and Kotochan are doing an rp together, and we decided to do a collab. We are still figuring out a few details (Due to a whole chat being lost) on the story so I thought I would go ahead and give a little history on the character I mainly rped with, Hanako! As you can see, she's a bit crazy XD Anyways, R&R! (OH, and I came up with the Penname by the way :P)**

**Anyways, I still haven't really decided who she is going to end up with, but I do know who it's between... If you wanna know then you'll have to read on :P**

**~Silent**


	2. Old Friends

**Well, here we go, second chapter! I had a little fun with this chapter (GIN! :D). It does get a little dicey, but all mature content is kept out (I had to schedule a convenient interruption to keep it rated T =.=) Anyways, enjoy! The next chapter will look into her past with Gin... And will reveal a lot more on her "Condition" which is NOT, by the way, just a cheap ripoff of Ukitake's. It happens for a reason! Please, Read and Review! I want your opinion! :D**

**I don't own bleach or any of the characters. Sadly...**

**A/N: Actually did some research and fixed a few technical things, like the spelling of Shihakusho...XD**

* * *

"Hanako! You're early!" Ukitake called out when he saw her.

"Yeah, there was a mountain of paperwork waiting for me…" Hanako sighed, shunpoing over to Ukitake. She would deal with it later, but it was good for them, especially Kira, to do paperwork, so they could finish it quickly in case one of them ever became captain. That and she really didn't want to have to deal with it.

"Hanako! You would never abandon your duties like that…" Ukitake gasped, shocked. Hanako laughed at his naivety.

"Haha yeah right, I'm not doing that! That's why I have a Squad!" Hanako laughed, hugging him.

"Hanako." Ukitake glanced down at her uncomfortably.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him adoringly. Ukitake felt bad for what he had to say. She still seemed so innocent, and very unlike the assertive woman she had been before, she looked like she had been when he had first found her. She looked happy again, but somehow it was an act, he knew it.

"Why are you acting like this?" he sighed, backing up a step so he could see her "It isn't like you, and-" Hanako cut him off.

"People change a lot in 50 years, Sensei." Hanako stated simply. "And…" Hanako began reluctantly.

"And what?" Ukitake asked, looking at her directly. Searching for any trace of the old Hanako.

"I…. I really missed you. I thought about you every day, you know?" Hanako finished tentatively, a shy blush appearing on her face. Ukitake's eyes widened when he saw her expression turn sad. This was more like her.

"I missed you too. I wondered what happened to you. You suddenly disappeared… Just… Forget I ever mentioned it, okay?" Ukitake smiled reassuringly. Hanako smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I got better, you know!" Hanako backed away a bit and smiled. "I learned a couple new things as well!"

"That's good." Ukitake laughed, earning a questioning glance from Hanako.

"TAICHO!" yelled Sentaro and Kiyone, rushing over to Ukitake.

"Get out of the way, butt-face!" Kiyone shoved Sentaro out of the way.

"Move it, monkey-butt!" Sentaro struggled forward, attempting to bow before his captain.

"Hey, don't order me around, you dumb m-" Kiyone pushed forward, accidently elbowing Hanako in the chest. Hanako widened her eyes and brought a hand up to her mouth.

"P-please excuse me!" Hanako gasped, suddenly running away.

"Hanako, wait-!" Ukitake called out, only to be crowded by his 2 Fukutaichou. He pushed them away, ignoring their arguing and shunpoing after Hanako.

Hanako leaned weakly against the wall, clutching her chest tightly. Her breath came in quick, short gasps. She coughed heavily. This was not good. She didn't know where she was, but she hoped it was remote, where no one would find her.

"Shikusho." She swore, her voice coming out ragged. She struggled to hold in another bout of coughs. If she couldn't get control of it she would have to go to Unohana and admit that she was still having problems.

"What are you doing here?" asked an emotionless voice. Hanako's eyes widened as she recognized the voice. It belonged to Kuchiki Byakuya. The man she wanted to see the least right now. How would she face him after she had so suddenly abandoned her duty 50 years ago?

"B-Bya-chan…!" Hanako managed to get out before coughing heavily. A vile, raw taste appeared in the back of her throat. Wincing, she sank down to the ground.

"Why are you coughing so?" he asked, stepping forward. He looked at her coldly, making no move to offer help. He was definitely mad at her for leaving.

"N-none of your b-business!" Hanako covered her mouth up as she coughed again, causing hot pain to shoot through her chest. All she wanted at the moment was for that man to leave.

"It is my business, since this is my Squad Barracks." Byakuya stated emptily, looking down at her.

"S-shikusho…" Hanako muttered, "H-how did you find me…?" she asked, choking on her own words.

"Your Reiatsu is pouring out so greatly it was impossible not to notice." Byakuya said slowly, his cold stare boring into her. "Can you explain to me why you are in such a bad condition?"

"I'm fine!" Hanako hissed, struggling to keep the pain out of her face. Her eyes suddenly widened and she coughed violently. Blood spurted out of her mouth, staining her hands and getting on her white haori.

"Please explain." He waited, not accepting no for an answer.

"I just have…." Hanako searched for something, anything but the truth, "I got pneumonia a few weeks ago, and it looks like I haven't recovered yet." Hanako outright lied. She stood up on shaky legs and staggered past Byakuya. "N-nothing to worry about." She assured him, her words carrying absolutely no meaning.

"Very well." Byakuya said, despite his curiousity. Such a blatant lie was not going to trick him, but she obviously didn't want him to pry. Hanako followed his movements as he shunpoed back to his office. Hanako's knees gave out in relief, and she let herself fall to the ground. She curled up, trying desperately to cover up her coughing before anyone noticed she was missing.

"Sakamoto?" Toshiro suddenly appeared, "Are you okay? I felt your Reiatsu…"

"I'm fine!" Hanako smiled gratefully. "I was just feeling unwell. I should go see Unohana!" she sounded strained, although she attempted to cover it up. Hanako struggled to keep her façade up. If Toshiro found out, he would never leave her alone. She desperately shunpoed out of there as fast as possible. She found herself back in her own squad's designated areas, and quickly looked around before staggering through a long, rather remote path.

"Shikusho!" she hissed, drowning in another violent coughing fit. She struggled to breathe in and then let it out without coughing. Her eyes were unfocused as she stumbled single-mindedly towards the building where the old Taichou used to sleep. She managed to calm herself down enough to get a little bit of rest between coughs. She knew it wouldn't be long before they worsened, however.

"Gin-chan." She called out by habit, stumbling through the corridors and going through the very last door in the last hall. She entered a dark room and collapsed by the familiar bed and rested her head on it, inhaling the scent of the old captain. A temporary peace overcame her, as she drowned in the familiar scent. Her mine replayed scenes where she had been comforted by the old captain. Her coughing subsided as the breaths she took slowed and became less urgent. Soon, the attack was over altogether, but Hanako just lay there, yearning for the times when he had caressed her hair and told her that everything was gonna be fine, just because he was there.

"Traitor…" she muttered softly, opening her eyes and locking her gaze onto some point on the bed. The anger and the hurt she felt over the betrayal were clear in her voice. Her eyes swam with unshed tears and she felt her calm being threatened as she remembered the letter she had gotten. Blinking furiously, she shook her head and turned her body around, and leaning back against the bed. She became aware of another presence after a while, and with a start she shot straight up. The presence had been in her mind for the majority of the hour she had been there; she just hadn't acknowledged it until then.

"Come out." She commanded, her voice strained and tired. Hanako turned to glare at the doorframe, and immediately flinched when she saw who it was. Not now!

"Kira…. Why the hell are you here?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing angrily. Had he followed her or something!

"I felt your Reiatsu…. You seemed to be troubled, so I came to see what's wrong…" he answered reluctantly. "Were… Were you two close?"

"It doesn't matter." She sighed, walking past him and straight into Ukitake, who immediately enveloped her in a warm hug. She closed her eyes and let him hug her for a while before pulling away.

"Get out of here, and please never come in again." She commanded, looking at Ukitake.

"B-but Taichou, if you were close to Gin-taichou, then-" Kira began, only to be interrupted by the sharp increase of her Reiatsu level at the mention of his name.

"Please don't come here again." She asked, her gaze shifting back to the room behind her, which still smelled strongly of Gin, even though it had been almost an entire year since he had left.

"Hai, Taicho!" Kira quickly retreated, sensing she wasn't messing around. She seemed to forget that Ukitake was there, as she stepped past him and back in the room. She buried her head in Gin's bed, her eyes filling with tears at the familiar scent.

"Gin-chan….. Did you know…. Daisuki." She admitted quietly , her head bowed and the tears silently running down her cheeks. Kira suppressed a gasp. He knew she said not to stay, but he needed to make sure his Taichou was okay.

"What!" Ukitake exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. Hanako gasped and turned around to face him. Ukitake looked at her with cold eyes, unable to believe that she and Gin had gotten that close.

"…. You heard me, Sensei." She stated softly, closing her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. She had thought he had already left.

"Hanako…. You need to give it up." He said quietly, placing a big hand on her shoulder. Hanako glanced at the hand with sad eyes.

"Why, Sensei? Why did he leave?" she asked him the questions plaguing her mind. Her eyes refused to meet his, instead they travelled around the room. Ukitake had no way of answering such questions. Only Gin himself could.

"I don't know Hanako. No one knows." He said quietly, reaching up a finger and gently brushing away a fallen tear. Hanako's skin tingled at the touch. Hanako turned bright red when she realized she had just admitted she had fallen in love with a traitor in front of this man, who was like a father to her.

"Sorry!" she hastily backed away and sat on the bed, closing her eyes and cursing her stupidity.

"Hanako?" he asked, confused. He threw her a quizzical look before deciding to leave her to think and leaving. He brushed past Kira without a single glance. He knew that it was for the better if Kira was there to help her.

"Gin-chan…." Hanako bowed her head, thinking desperately about Gin. If only he were here…. Hanako curled up in the bed and stayed that way for what must have been an entire hour. A sudden Reiatsu caught her attention. Snapping her head up, she looked right in front of her, at the source.

"Hana-chan, ya called?" he said slyly, his signature smile creeping wider. Hanako was too shocked to say anything. Here was a traitor before her. Was he stupid? How did he get there? Kira scrambled in front of the door at the familiar voice.

"G-Gin-chan!" She exclaimed suddenly, stumbling across the room and throwing her arms around the man she hadn't seen in just over 50 years. She hugged him tightly and inhaled his scent, her head filling with his sweet, familiar smell. Kira looked on with a shocked expression on his face.

"Woah, there, Hana-chan, ye sure yer okay? He asked, hugging her back lightly.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, hugging him tighter. She blinked furiously to keep herself from crying. She had missed him so much.

"A while," he gave a crooked smile. Hanako's started beating a lot faster. How much had he heard? She let go and looked at him from an arm's length away, searching his face to see if he would give anything away.

"How… How much….?" She trailed of, looking up into his face. His familiar smile made her blush furiously.

"I heard eveythin' Hana-chan." He said with a knowing smile. Hanako stared at him, not sure what to do.

"Then you know how I feel." She whispered quietly after a while, dropping her gaze. Her eyes shined with unshed tears. She had been looking forward to seeing him for over 50 years, only to find out that he was a traitor. Then she had to live with that knowledge for over a year, and when she sees him again, he makes her feel like this!

"Ye could say tha', Hana-chan." He whispered tauntingly. Hanako only noticed that he was wearing his old shihakusho when he tugged on the collar of the kosode, loosening it and letting it hang open to reveal his chest. It slipped off his shoulders, revealing a well-toned chest. Hanako's breath caught in her throat at the site. She couldn't help staring at him.

"G-Gin-chan?" she asked, confused. She put up a hand and self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Gin's hand shot out and caught her arm. Hanako jumped at his sudden touch. She looked at his slanted eyes for some kind of explanation. He was smiling his signature sly smile. She cried out in shock and pain when he dragged her roughly back into his warm embrace. Hanako blushed deeply and rested her head trustingly on his bare chest.

For some reason he made her feel safe. It was always this way. He had a way of quelling all of her fears and making the pain in her heart go away. Her being was so focused on Gin that she didn't even noticed Kira standing in the doorway. She sighed and remembered the last time she had seen him, just the day before Kaien's death.

"Hana-chan." He whispered, jolting Hanako out of her thoughts and causing her to look up at him. And suddenly, they were kissing. Hanako sighed and passionately kissed him back. She gasped, and flinched away when his hand loosened the collar of both her kosode and the shitagi, causing it them slide down and threatening to fall off her shoulders to reveal her sparse underclothes. Kira leaned against the doorway, unable to believe what he was seeing. His captain was just going to let him do what he wanted?

"Gin… what are you doing?" she protested half-heartedly. She didn't do anything, though, not even when she was suddenly trapped underneath him on his bed. Her heart pounded even faster. They were completely alone here. No one would ever know about this. But… She hadn't seen Gin in so long. If she let him do whatever he wanted, it would make up for her just walking out of his life.

"It's alright Hana-chan," he comforted, running a hand slowly down her neck and continuing along her shoulder to gently remove the remaining sleeve of the kosode off her right shoulder. "This is whatcha wanted." He finished with a smirk at Hanako's flushed face and erratic breathing.

He teased her lightly with his fingertips, playing with the straps of her underclothes and further taking off the top of her white shitagi. His face was centimeters away from hers and occasionally he tauntingly brushed his lips with hers, as if proving her that he was in control. Hanako found she couldn't move, just let him do what he wanted. But that didn't mean she wasn't enjoying it.

"Jus' kiddin'" He said cruelly, standing up and giving her a playful look. "I wouldn' do such things to you, Hana-chan." Hanako stared at him, wishing she knew what he was thinking. Her eyes travelled over him, taking him in. His silver hair, his slanted eyes, his sly grin. She missed him, so much. She wanted to just be with him right then.

"W-what are you doing?" Kira finally managed to speak up. Hanako's head snapped around to see who the 3rd voice was. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Kira.

"Kira, thank god!" she whispered. For some reason, she was glad that they weren't alone. She stood up quickly and looked carefully over at Gin. She completely forgot about her shitagi and felt the remaining part of the top slide the rest of the way off, revealing a thin undershirt.

"Bye-bye!" he laughed slyly, and suddenly disappeared, leaving the confused and half-dressed Hanako and the shaken Kira alone.

"Please forget about this." She sighed lighly. Kira stared blankly at her as she slipped off what remained of her shihakusho, leaving herself only in very thin underclothing. She walked over to the closet at the edge of the room and slid it open to reveal a bunch of men's clothing, mostly Gin's old clothing. In it, was one thin kimono that belonged to Hanako. She had placed it there her first night back. Yamamoto hadn't known where she was sleeping, as she had asked to choose where she wanted to sleep. She had chosen this room. Hanako finished tying it and looked at Kira.

Kira's face turned a deep red as he realized he had just seen his captain changing, and his eyes hadn't left her the entire time. He had even followed her movements! That was so indecent! She was only a child! He had just completely violated his captain's privacy. Hanako wasn't even paying attention to him, though.

"S-sorry!" he bowed hastily, keeping his eyes on the floor. After a few minutes, he lifted his head up to see why Hanako hadn't replied. His eyes widened when he saw she was curled up on the bed. She looked more like a confused little girl than the strong, fierce captain she had been in front of the rest of the squad. There was more to her than he had originally though.

"I couldn't bring myself to stop him." She whispered suddenly, her voice hoarse and the pain clear in her dull tone. Kira swore he could see tears on her face, but it was hard to tell in the dark room.

"It's okay…" he said softly, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. Hanako suddenly uncurled herself and was in his arms, hugging him tightly and sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Confused, he hugged her back and murmured encouraging words, not exactly sure what he was supposed to do with his strong, but seemingly emotionally unstable captain.

They remained that way for quite some time, before Hanako's sobs subsided and her breathing slowed considerably. Kira realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He compassionately pushed a strand of hair from her face and picked her up easily. He was quite surprised at how light she was, but thinking back to when she had… changed so boldly in front of him, she was quite thin, well-muscled, but thin. He carried her to her room, which was actually located in the building next to the offices, right next to his own room. He placed her on her bed and qietly covered her with the blankets, careful not to wake her up. He sat in the chair by her bed, watching her sleep until he, too, dozed off.


	3. Flashback 2 and Secrets

**Okay, well, her you go! It's a bit choppy but I wanted to get it up ASAP so you didn't have to wait any longer. So I only reviewed over it twice, instead of four or five times. But it's also a lot longer. Hope you enjoy ^^**

**The characters and concept all belong to Tite Kubo. Not me (Sadly) **

**Btw the flashback is during the period where she was training with Kyouraku and Ukitake, so that's why her wounds are so bad. She's training for Bankai probably... (Haven't looked at the timeline I made very closely lately) R&R! Tell me what you think!**

* * *

97 Years Ago

"_Oww…." Hanako growned, holding her chest tightly with one arm as she coughed violently into the palm of her other hand. Her entire body was covered in intense wounds. Intense scars covered her skin. She looked young, maybe 12 or so. She wore a torn Shihakusho, a clear sign that she was a shinigami. But it was in rags, a result of her training._

"_Kuso." She cursed, curling up even tighter. Her chest tightened and she felt herself trying to get out. She coughed violently, and her hand travelled to her face._

"_N-no…" she gasped, forcing her hand down. She was currently in a remote storage room in the 4__th__ Squad Station. She couldn't stand being around all those people, especially not the way she was now. She was a danger to them. And she couldn't stand being locked up secretly. Yamamoto must have a reason for keeping her a secret from most of the captains. After another hard day of training, she had come here to get her wounds treated, but couldn't stand the pitiful looks she was getting from Unohana and the Fukutaichou so she ran away, somewhere she could deal with her pain alone._

"_What's wrong?" a voice distracted her from her misery. Hanako looked up and the smile on the boys face faded. A huge bruise covered her face, from several hits, it looked like. She had a black eye, and through her tattered Shihakusho you could see her body was covered in bloodied bandages. Where there weren't bandages, pale scars and old, mostly-healed wounds marred her skin. She was clearly in pain, and appeared to be sick as well, with the violent way she had been coughing. His slanted eyes opened to reveal red eyes as he saw the blood dripping out of her mouth. "Are you okay?"_

"_I-I'm fine." She said quietly. But the way her torso shook when she suppressed the next round of coughing gave her away. She wasn't fine. If she kept up this way, she knew she would die eventually. But the anger she was feeling about the way she was being treated was aggravating her even more, making her coughing fits worse._

"_Calm down." He said quietly, reaching down a hand and playing with a strand of her rough hair. She recoiled from his touch and struggled to stand up._

"_Who are you!" she asked defensively, backing up with a hostile look on her face. Her Reiatsu poured out of her, but it didn't seem to be having an effect on the young, silver-haired soul reaper before her. In a way, he looked familiar, but she couldn't remember his name. It was always the name._

"_Ichimaru Gin, 3__rd__ Seat of the 5__th__ Squad." He said seriously, his eyes closing again. "An' who are ya?" he said, but the way he said it implied he didn't really care. He came closer to her, feeling horrible about the way she looked. She almost looked familiar, but he couldn't really place it._

"_It doesn't matter." Hanako spat, edging away from him. Her eyes glared at him warily. There was something hurting deep inside of her._

"_I think it does." He said softly, closing the distance between them and placing an arm around her shoulders and under her own arm, supporting her. She flinched as he brushed up against a deep stab wound on her shoulder. She looked at him with undisguised contempt. But she obviously didn't think he was that creepy._

"… _Hanako." She said quietly, her eyes dropping to the ground. She had completely forgotten about her condition by now, and was no longer coughing. The way he was holding her was uncomfortable, but it was nice of him to think of her so kindly._

"_Well, Hanako-chan," Gin said casually, as if he wasn't supporting a half-dead girl at the moment. "Wanna tell me how you managed ta get those wounds?" his sly tone made Hanako look at him suspiciously._

"… _Training." She said shortly, her eyes travelling down to the ground once more. Gin saw her bruise and frowned. Something didn't feel right about that._

"_Sumthin' abou' those wounds makes it look like more 'n trainin'" he said slowly. Hanako's let down her guard a bit. No sense trusting him but he did seem to care, so she might as well use that to distract her from the pain._

"_It's hard…" she said simply, letting herself slip out of Gin's loose hold and fall to the groun. Hanako sighed and leaned against his leg, not wanting to lay down. She watched him warily when he moved, and she was forced to lie down on the ground. Her eyes couldn't follow his movements, so she stopped trying to see what he was doing. She felt a hand on the back of her head lift her head up and place something underneath. When his hand let go of her, she felt some kind of cushion underneath her head. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Something about him was making her guard slip away. She felt… safe._

_An intense pain shot through her stomach and she quickly opened her eyes to see what was wrong. She groaned when she noticed blood quickly soaking through the bandages around her stomach._

"_Kuso." She growled quietly, attempting to sit up so she could see what was wrong. Gin pushed her back down._

"_Hope ya don' mind." He said, opening up her kosode to take a look at the wound. Hanako quivered as he ran his hand around the bandages, looking for where they were tied. With every touch, a new wave of pain went rolling through her body. When his hand finally found the bandage, he quickly untied it. She felt the bindings around her entire stomach loosen, and she saw him stand up and grab some new bandages._

"_Y-Your going to have to take it off." She choked quietly, reaching a hand up and weakly pulling the top half of her Shihakusho off her, revealing her bare skin, with just a short binding over her chest. Her eyes narrowed as he opened up her bandage and couldn't hold back the gasp. It was, by far, the worst wound on her body. Half her stomach appeared to be ripped out, mutilated by something. Gin carefully removed the rest of the bandages over her stomach. Hanako gritted her teeth under the intense pain. At one point, she passed out._

_When she awoke, her bandages were replaced and her Shihakusho was she way it had been before. But the silver-haired Gin was nowhere to be seen._

* * *

Hanako awoke slowly. She savored the warmth and comfort of her bed, knowing she would have some paperwork to deal with today. She sighed and opened her eyes. It was always good to get an early start. She looked over at the table next to her and gasped. Kira was there. Why was Kira in her room? And sleeping in a chair! She had futons in her room, there was no need to risk a stiff back for the next day.

"Kira?" Hanako asked, enjoying watching him jump up out of the chair with a guilty expression on his face.

"You okay?" she giggled, standing up and ignoring her now un-tied kimono. It didn't really matter at the moment. She wanted to know what he was doing in her room.

"Uh… Can you put clothes on?" he asked, turning red and averting his eyes. Hanako laughed openly at his modesty. After over a hundred years being in this form, she had no longer cared that much. Besides, it didn't really matter since she had the appearance of a child.

"Answer my question and I'll consider it." She said teasingly, opening a door to her closet and pulling out everything she needed.

"Uh, you fell asleep so I carried you here…. Uh, and then I sat down for a moment… I guess I fell asleep." He said quietly. He risked a glance up when he heard the rustling of clothing and saw that she had completely dropped the kimono on the floor. He couldn't help but notice her sparse underclothing. A small binding over her chest and a very thin pair of shorts made out of a light material. He blushed deeply when she caught him looking.

"Thanks Kira." She said, unable to control her giggling. He turned around as she put on her Shihakusho, not wanting to intrude on his _captain's_ privacy. Despite her youthful appearance, she was a captain, he reminded himself. "You can turn around now." She watched him, amused, as he turned around. She quickly twisted her hair back and put it up.

"Alright, let's go see what's going on." She said quietly, grabbing Kira's hand and dragging him roughly through the building and to the squad training grounds, where the squad was waiting for them. She released his hand right before they entered the room, and he noticed the way she had been walking changed. Rather than the casual way she had been bouncing around before, her walk was more dignified now. The way she carried herself was, he noted, similar to the way he had seen nobles carry themselves. He wondered what kind of background she had.

"Today, we are going to work on basic sword technique. Everyone grab a wooden sword and line up, we are going to learn a sword form." Hanako waited for them to get lined up. "Follow my movements best you can." Hanako showed them the simple movements of a rather basic sword form, counting out her paces for the squad, so that they would have numbers to assign the movements to. Roughly 200 Shinigami followed her movements. For about an hour she led them, until they were very comfortable of the movements. Some of them quickly grew bored of what they saw as "Beginner's work".

"What's the point of this!" asked the 17th Seat. Hanako didn't know his name, but she didn't really care, either. He was a rather dull man, and wanted to know the reason behind her every action.

"I'm getting to that." She said carefully, glancing in his direction. He was rather annoying, but he was still a decent fighter.

"Kira, come here." She said drily, hoping he knew how to do combat using the basic moves of one form in a sequence. He nodded and came over. The Shinigami formed a loose circle around them, attempting to see what she was going to do.

The two of them performed the simple movements, Hanako reversing the form around so that while she attacked, Kira was pulling out of the way according to the movements, and bringing around a counterattack. It was rather graceful, from the both of them. He also seemed to take joy from the movements.

For the next two hours, Hanako oversaw the training of her squad, helping fix mistakes and helping them lay out their basic sword technique. It was rare, for a captain to directly oversee training, but she rather enjoyed it.

"For those who work hard, at the end of this week, I have a little treat for you!" she smiled when they were finished. Most of them were flushed and sweaty from the workout, but they were all a lot more confident in their abilities now. "Believe me, I know if you've been working hard." She smiled, her eyes locking on to some of the few members who weren't flushed. Either they didn't believe they needed to learn the basics or they just weren't trying hard, but these were the ones who weren't going to get rewarded.

"For now, Kira will assign your duties for today." Hanako said, leaving Kira to deal with the rest of the squad. Kain, Rika, and Kira, all of whom were flushed and sweaty, glanced at each other. It seemed there was more to this captain then they had originally thought.

"Time for the paperwork…" Hanako muttered quietly, feeling like her old self again. She didn't want to shirk her duties too much, in case she ended up like K-sensei and dumped all her duties on Kira. She wanted it to be so that he did the majority, but she took on a fair amount as well.

"Why are you here?" she asked, putting back on her smiling face for the man standing stiffly before the door to her office. She grinned and walked past him into her office. She felt his Reiatsu fluctuate, only slightly. He was still mad at her…

"I have some papers concerning your squad that need to be discussed." Byakuya said coldly, following her into her office. She sighed as she saw the amount of paperwork awaiting her. Looks like now that there was a new captain people weren't holding back with the complaints. That or Kira was being mean to her and hadn't actually revealed how much paperwork there was.

"Bya-chan, are you still mad at me?" she asked, settling down in her seat and reading over the first of what promised to be hours of work. She refused to look at him. Byakuya sighed quietly.

"No, I'm just confused as to why you saw it fit to leave for over 50 years, and completely abandon all your responsibilities." He said at length, his cold voice making Hanako twitch.

"I'm sorry, but I had quite a bit on my plate here, and I didn't feel I could return just yet. Either way, I'm back now." She drummed her fingers on the desk as she read over the paperwork. Byakuya wasn't making any attempt to give her the paperwork and with him here she couldn't just ditch what was in front of her, so she was stuck there for two hours, doing paperwork in front of the amazingly cold man who was clearly lying about being mad at her. The entire time, she could feel his eyes on her.

"Well." He said eventually, and Hanako finally lifted up her eyes to look at him. In his hand he held several documents. "Will you read them over and sign?"

"I'm hungry, l'll do that later." Hanako said with an infuriating smile. Byakuya betrayed his annoyance when his hand gripped the paper harder. Hanako turned around and grabbed one of the bigger stacks of paper.

"OI! Someone get these taken care of! I've finished signing them!" she called out, leaving them on the door outside the hallway. She turned back to Byakuya. "Care to join me?"

"… Fine." Byakuya said, wondering how she had managed to get that much paperwork done in the last two hours only. It would have taken him at least 3 hours do all of it.

"I'm a fast reader." She said, as if reading his mind. She smiled and hugged on to his arm casually. "Bya-chan, please get over it. It's already in the past." She said, referring to his anger over her leaving. She knew he would be annoyed by the old nickname, but he would spend the entire walk over to her room analyzing what she had just said. She practically dragged him the short distance to her personal room, closing the door behind her. She walked through a door at the far end into a kitchen-like area and grabbed two surprisingly big bento lunches. She handed one to Byakuya and sat on her bed, eating it slowly and clearly stalling. Byakuya sat beside the chair on her bed, looking a little annoyed that there wasn't some kind of table he could use to eat.

"I am not sure what to say after 50 years." Hanako admitted lightly before taking a bite. She put her chopsticks down thoughtfully as she chewed.

"Well you could start with how haveI been." Byakuya said, eating slowly and neatly, despite the raging hunger in him. Hanako sighed when she saw how little he had eaten. Figures that a noble would worry about politeness. Hanako was really hungry at the moment and it was taking all her willpower not to eat it as fast as she could.

"Well, that's a boring question, because I knew that you would say that you have been fine, even if you have not. How is Rukia?" she decided, an strange expression flitting over her features before being overcome by a bright grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"She is better. She seems to be doing well." Byakuya was finally talking more. Hanako smiled genuinely. At least he wasn't mad at her anymore!

"Yeah… I have some things to attend to. When you are done, please just put it on the table in the kitchen." She gestured to the other room. A slightly worried expression overcame her face. She heard something strange going on over in the training room, and many Reiatsu were flaring. Byakuya looked slightly annoyed that there was a table and she hadn't told him about it. As she exited the room, she saw him standing up and walking over to the kitchen.

As soon as Hanako was out the door, Byakuya placed the bento on the kitchen and decided to see if there was anything she was hiding in here. Any clue as to why she hadn't come back. When he looked in her bedside table, he noticed what looked like a book towards the back. He fished it out, opening it up and reading the words written in Hanako's own hand. One particular entry caught his attention.

"_Year 34, day 113 of Patrol_

_Today was shocking. During our patrol, there was an Adjucha hollow. Before we knew what was happening, it wiped out a third of the squad. By the rest of the squad was ready, it had already killed another 3__rd__ of them. I can't believe I was so weak. Poor Kazu, I can't believe I let him die. I'm making them all sound weak, but compared to that hollow, they didn't stand much of a chance. Kazu was the last to die, and then I was left all alone. No one thought there would be an Adjucha anywhere near where we were patrolling. After a while, I had to release my shikai to beat it. It was quite annoying. Another Adjucha attacked me as soon as I defeated the first. _

_In the end, I had to use my mask. I hate using it, and I completely lost control. When I finally came to my senses, the Adjucha had been beaten to dust. I hadn't even killed it yet, though. I hate it when I'm so cruel. I ended their pain as quickly as I could, but I can't help but feel guilty. It was a bit hard having to explain why I lost an entire squad to the Adjuchas and managed to defeat all both of them on my own to that idiot Omaeda. I don't really get why that dumbass is even the Corps Commander, but it doesn't really matter. As long as Soi Fon heeds my request to keep me away from the Soul Society I'm fine." _

Byakuya read the rest of the entry, which was mainly about her ranting about some kind of punishment and having to get treated for a particularly bad wound, and spent the whole time puzzling over why it was she had mentioned a mask. It didn't make much sense to him. He shook his head and put the journal back in the drawer and exited the room, leaving the drawer open and the unfinished bento on the table, his hunger forgotten.

* * *

Hanako walked into the training room, looking around to see what the problem was. Two members were arguing, and it looked like it was about her. Hanako recognized her 17th seat. It looked like he was still having doubts about her.

"She's all technique! I'll bet she doesn't even have bankai!" he was yelling. There was quite the crowd around the two.

"What makes you say that!" said another voice, Hanako realized it belonged to Kain.

"I've heard rumors that she would rather die than use it! So that must mean she doesn't have it at all!" he exclaimed, and Hanako's heart sank when she heard a few murmurs of agreement.

"That doesn't mean anything! Have you ever heard her zanpakuto's old title? The Wildest Zanpakuto in the Seireitei?" Kain said calmly. Hanako could hear the frustration in his voice.

"That doesn't mean anything! Her bankai could be useless." He hissed.

"Enough." Hanako yelled "End this pointless argument!" she was suddenly right next to the two, glaring up at them since they were much taller than her.

"Sorry, Hanako-Taichou," Kain sighed, looking helplessly at the man.

"I'm not sorry, _Sakamoto_." He said mockingly, just to test her. Hanako resisted the urge to slap the man. If this 17th Seat wasn't careful he was going to get it soon.

"Excuse me, I weren't aware that we dropped suffixes. Please do not address me so casually." She glared at him, pressuring him with her Reiatsu. He bowed low, defeated. "Rika-chan!" she called out, turning her attention to the fourth seat.

"What was that she said about addressing others casually?" she heard someone mutter. She smiled. She had only known Rika for one day, so it wasn't really respectful.

"Yes, Taichou?" she asked, her eyebrow raising at the casual terms.

"Can you please find out who the idiot is that just broke down my office door?" she smiled, turning away and shunpoing back to her room. She stepped in and noticed several things wrong. First, the drawer by her bed was open, and her journal was placed wrong. She curiously opened her journal and flipped through it. She hadn't written in it in the last two days. She should probably. But it looked like someone had been reading it. She walked into the kitchen to clean up the bento boxes when she noticed that Byakuya's was practically untouched. That wasn't right. He had looked really hungry.

"Hanako-taichou!" Hanako whirled around when she heard an exuberant knocking on her door. She didn't recognize the voice.

"Come in!" she called, shedding her haori and her shoes and quickly sitting on her bed. Wouldn't want someone to walk in on her staring like an idiot at an unfinished bento. Especially when there were two on the table.

"Hanako-taichou," Bowed a young man with dark purple hair and an interesting "69" tattoo on his face. "My name is Shuuhei Hisagi." He looked up at Hanako, waiting for her to reply.

"Sakamoto Hanako, as I'm sure you already knew. You can relax, Hisagi." She said, smiling and looking at the chair. He nodded and sat down in it. "What is it that you need?" she said, lying back and looking at the ceiling.

"There were some paperwork matters that needed to be taken care of between our squads." Hisagi glanced down at some pieces of paperwork in his hands. "It appears that a lot of the 9th Squad members were blaming your squad for Tosen's corruption." He hesitated before going on, "And… It was rumored that you were close to the previous captain. To be honest… Hostilities are running high."

"Then let's work together to make it right." Hanako smiled, completely ignoring his comments about her closeness to Gin. She sat up and looked at the papers. Her eye twitched. The 17th Seat… What was his name again? Oh well, it didn't matter at the moment anyways.

"O-okay." He looked surprised, as if he had expected her to be evasive like the other captain. He had heard many rumors about her being overly familiar and somewhat controlling, but she didn't seem like Gin at all.

"Well, let's see. Oh, looks like him again, huh?" she said, a sly smile flitting across her face for the fraction of a second. Hisagi recognized the look. He almost thought he had imagined it, but the creepy smiled returned when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Who?" he asked, carefully watching her. She wasn't paying attention to him really, but he could see her looking over the paper, her eyes completely focused as she read the report. Her hair fell in her face. It was quite pretty, actually, the way it set off her green eyes.

"My 17th Seat. He's constantly causing problems," she said when she finished reading. She looked at him with a kind smile. No, she was definitely different than Gin. Hisagi blinked, gathering his thoughts together.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, avoiding her gaze.

"We could have a joint training session." She suggested. He didn't reply, lost in his thoughts. She tentatively placed a hand under his chin and forced him to look in her eyes. "Okay?"

"What- yeah, sounds good!" he said quickly, causing Hanako to laugh.

"Okay, get your squad members over on the training field tomorrow morning at 7!" she said, standing up and starting to remove her kosode. Hisagi's eyes widened and he noticed she hadn't been wearing her haori this whole time he had seen her. He saw it on the floor by her bed.

"What are you doing!" he exclaimed, looking at her like she was crazy.

"I'm getting out of my clothing so I can have a shower. Duh. Is that everything you need me to do? Because if so I would like it if you got out, Hisagi-chan." She said teasingly, enjoying his embarrassed expression as her kosode slipped to the ground and she began to work on her shitagi. He looked down at the ground and noticed her petite bare feet. She must have been about to do this when he had walked in.

"I-I'm sorry! I'll be leaving now!" Flustered, Hisagi backed out of the room, followed by Hanako's giggling. He should have known! Embarassed, he fled to his squad to inform them to be on the 3rd Squad field at 7 in the morning.

Hanako pulled off the remainder of her Shihakusho, finding a short kimono and quickly putting it on. It was a lot more comfortable than the Shihakusho. Sighing, she returned to her desk, starting on the paperwork. She managed to work for three hours before she was once more interrupted.

"Hanako?" she heard from the doorway. She continued reading her papers. She had managed to get through about half of it.

"Come in, Bya-chan." She said, without looking up. She signed off on another document and placed it on the top of a very high stack of papers. She then put three other papers on top of a different, much smaller pile. "Did you need something?" she asked, finally glancing at him. In his hand he held a book on physics and several sheets of paper.

"Yes, I need you to review over these documents." He said, placing them in front of her. He noticed her wearing a short kimono, one he hadn't seen before.

"I need to take care of a few more urgent things, first." She said, indicating a fairly big stack of paper. It wasn't important at all, but she just wanted to toy with him.

"Very well, I will wait here." Byakuya sighed. He had expected as much. He sat down in a comfortable chair and began reading his book. After a while, he noticed a change in her breathing. He glanced up and saw her asleep on the desk. Sighing, he placed the papers by her and left. There was no way he wanted to deal with her right when she was waking up.

"Is Hanako-Taichou in there?" Hisagi practically ran into him. He nodded slightly and watched the man walk into the office. He decided to see what would happen, since she was sleeping.

Hisagi stared at Hanako's sleeping face. What the hell? Was she really that tired? "You idiot." He whispered, "Were you planning on staying up late when you have to get up early?" he sighed and decided he should put her in her bed. After all, it was starting to get late.

"Hisagi! What are you doing?" Kira asked, staring at his sleeping Taichou.

"It appears that when she is tired she isn't very good at staying awake." He explained quietly. Byakuya stared at the two, wondering what was going on. He noticed Hanako gripping Hisagi tightly, as if she was troubled by something.

"She said she needed to see me…" he sighed, rubbing his neck.

"Probably to tell you to let the squad members know to be in the training field by 7 am tomorrow." He said, walking past Kira. Byakuya raised an eyebrow. Hanako groaned and a troubled expression came over her face.

"Hanako-taichou?" Hisagi asked and stopped walking, looking at her. Byakuya and Kira came to see what was wrong. Hanako gripped him tighter, moaning in clear distress.

"Come… Come back…" she gasped and her eyes flew open. She blinked a few times, her eyes sleepily gazing at each of them.

"Bya-chan?" she muttered, looking up at him.

"Yes?" Byakuya stared at her, wondering what it was that she wanted to ask him now. Why did he look slightly annoyed? What had she done this time?

"Put me down." She frowned. Byakuya shook his head.

"I'm not the one carrying you." He said, glancing at Hisagi. Hanako followed his gaze and sleepily stared at Hisagi.

"Sorry 'bout that, Hisagi." She muttered, and then stared at Kira, who was gawking at her.

"What are you wearing, Hanako?" Kira asked, his eyes not sure where to look. Hisagi and Byakuya noticed her outfit and both looked away unfomfortably.

"I'm wearing a kimono, stupid." She stated bluntly. She glanced over at her kimono, confused. She noted that it was riding up rather high on her thighs and was a little loose towards the top, causing it to fall rather low with amusement.

"Hisagi," she began, "Don't freak out." She wrapped her arms around his neck and quietly braced herself. All three men's eyes widened. She pulled his neck down into her slightly as she slid her legs out of his grasp and stood herself up. "That's better" she smiled and let him go, standing up on her own.

"H-Hanako…" Kira blushed as her kimono fell rather loosely around her. Hanako waved her hand at him.

"By the way, let everyone in the squad know to get to the field by 6:30 or they pay." She smiled sweetly, glancing at Byakuya tiredly. "Why are you gawking!" she snapped, walking off and ignoring the stares of her squad as she returned to her room. This had already been a long night.


	4. Flashback 3 and Rage

**Oi! Hows it going? I know its been a while, so here is the next one. It's getting better :D It's certainly a lot more fun to write now! I also actually edited this one (Unlike the last two... .) fairly thoroughly, so it's better (I hope!). Okay, the next one comes based on how fast you review! I was planning on doing one once a week but a guess not anymore. I already have the next few done so if you review I'll edit them and get them up quick!**

* * *

84 Years Ago

"_Welcome to the 11__th__ Squad, pipsqueak!"grinned the rough man, known as the 11__th__ Squad Captain Zaraki Kenpachi. A small girl with pink hair popped up behind his shoulder._

"_Hana-chan! Do you have any candy?" she asked, smiling cutely. Hanako shook her head at the young lieutenant._

"_Fight me!" someone yelled from behind her. Hanako instinctively spun around and raised her zanpakuto, blocking the rough blow. The blade she raised was a pure white, with a black guard and a white cloth wrapped around the guard. Intricate twin dragons rose up on either side of the blade, their fine details obviously made with great care._

"_What are you doing!" Hanako questioned angrily, pushing him off her. A bald man she didn't recognize was waving around his sword and sheathe._

"_Madarame Ikkaku, the 4__th__ Seat!" he said, swinging his zanpakuto down at her once more. She easily blocked, and pushed him off of her._

"_Why are you attacking me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as the look in his eyes told her he was going to attack again. She put up her sword, easily predicting his move. Sparks flew as the two blades collided._

"_This is the 11__th__ Squad!" his explanation was hardly satisfactory. Hanako's eyes blazed._

"_Your funeral." She hissed, slashing back. He jumped out of the way, giving a happy smile._

"_That's the spirit!" he laughed, lashing out with both his zanpakuto and his sheathe. Hanako analyzed his movements, looking for a pattern. Suddenly a huge hand came down on her shoulder, causing her to bend under it's weight._

"_Don't analyze, just fight." he smiled with a crazy gleam in his eye and backed up. Hanako glared at his retreat. He may be captain but he had no right to tell her how to fight! A sudden movement caught her attention. He was right, she was losing track of this guys movements by trying to predict him._

"_Fine!" she hissed, and she dodged under his double attacks, easily countering. She actually felt much more comfortable fighting against him rather than someone with only one sword. Zaraki noticed something in her movements. First, she was holding the long sword in her left hand, when she was clearly right-handed. Second, whenever she made a swipe her other hand swept forward as if it wanted to attack. Her balance was a little strange, too, and he occasionally saw her hesitate to block hits with her blade when they came to her right side._

_The battle was fairly even. Zaraki sighed. He was getting quite bored with this. "Release your zanpakuto." He ordered, sitting down and hoping to see something good._

"_What the hell?" Ikkaku smiled, and released his zanpakuto, revealing a long pole with a blade on the end. Hanako sighed and released her own, dropping it into the ground. The whole zanpakuto disappeared, as if blown away by the wind. Hanako grimaced as she saw his long pole. This was going to be very interesting._

"_Where is it?" Ikkaku asked, looking at her empty hands. She put them into a strange stance._

"_Around your neck, dumbass." She hissed, allowing a sword to harden. A big sword appeared around his neck. He watched with narrowed eyes as it matched her movements._

"_What are you doing with your other hand?" he asked suspiciously. Hanako glanced at him, surprised, as if she hadn't expected him to pick up on that._

"_It's her other blade." Zaraki answered for her, a bored expression on his face. She glanced at him, slightly annoyed, but let him do what he wanted. She wasn't exactly sure what it was about this man, but he seemed dangerous. The fact that he was able to pick up on her movements and abilities so quickly annoyed her._

"_Well this will be interesting!" Ikkaku yelled, thrusting his pole forward. Hanako blocked easily, allowing her sword to appear in her hand. A short dagger-like sword appeared in her other hand, very similar to the other one, but a lot shorter. The main difference, other than the size, was the color. Where the other blade was pure white, this one was a deep black. And rather than the majestic dragons, ferocious wolves leapt up the blades, their teeth bared in furious snarls._

"_Better watch it!" Hanako laughed, exhilarated. The winds spun around her as she quickly countered and spun around to attack him, only to come face to face with a huge blade. Gasping, she attempted to move back but her back met with the pole._

"_Didn't expect this, did you!" Ikkaku howled, watching his zanpakuto pierce Hanako's side. She winced and gasped, but was smiling nonetheless. Her hands dropped a little bit as her swords suddenly became much heavier. With a new resolve, she adjusted her grip and glanced at Ikkaku._

"_You leave yourself open." She hissed, thrusting the dagger into his stomach. They watched each other warily as the blood dripped out of their gaping wounds._

"_That's enough, I don't wanna lose two of my best fighters." Zaraki stepped in, blocking Hanako's view of Ikkaku. Hanako sighed and sat on the ground, grunting in pain when she jolted her new wound._

"_You're the new 6__th__ Seat." Zaraki said, pointing his zanpakuto at her casually. Hanako blinked and nodded, not sure what to say. In a way, she was relieved. The searing pain in her side reminded her of her incompetence. She knew she would have lost that fight in just a few more minutes._

"_Welcome, Hana-chan!" Yachiru bounced around happily. Hanako sighed and shook her head. This was going to be an interesting squad._

* * *

Hanako woke up at 6, quickly fixing her hair and getting into a Shihakusho. She shunpoed over to the training area about ten minutes later, hoping to get some practice of her own in before the squads arrived. She drew Kyofu as well as Tengoku, releasing them into Shikai form so that she could feel both blades in her hands. She closed her eyes and began very complicated sword movements. She didn't stop when she sensed a presence, but kept going until she completed a set of 22 sword forms 3 times. There was no need for her to practice, since her movements were perfectly controlled and precise, but it felt good. The sweet tension and slight burning in her muscles as she strained the muscles to hold the taught positions overcame her.

"Hanako? It's time to begin." Hanako was interrupted during her last few movements of one of the last forms. She finished her form, taking her time. When she was done, she opened her eyes and looked at who was speaking at her. Immediately, she was assaulted with more than 400 pairs of eyes. She stretched out her tense muscles and raised her arms above her head, letting her sleeve fall a little.

"Okay, Hisagi." She smiled, not the least bit winded even after an hour-long workout. She bounced up to the platform at head of the field and turned around to look at everyone. "Okay everyone, I want you to get in groups of four, with one person from you squad and two from the other squad." She smiled nonchalantly at the 400 Shinigami before her. She ignored the slight pain in her neck as she looked down at them.

"Kira, Hisagi, and 3rd Seat of the 9th Division will be in my group." She said quietly. A wily man made his way up to the platform.

"I thought we would start with a small competition. Everyone has a wooden sword? Good. First off, I want you to show everyone in the group as many sword techniques you know. As soon as each of you have shared, I want you to spar, two on two. You cannot have someone from your squad on your side. If even one drop of blood is spilled, one insult is exchanged or a you do not work as a team then your team loses." Hanako said. She watched the Shinigami for a while, before turning to her own group.

"Since we're all pretty experienced, why don't we just go straight to the sparring?" she said with a smile at Kira. Kira nodded and teamed up with the 3rd Seat. Hisagi walked over to Hanako.

"Oh, Rika, can you hold back and monitor all the teams?" she asked before getting started. She turned around without even waiting for her confirmation.

"Okay, ready? Begin!" she said, and she immediately drew her zanpakuto and lunged towards Kira, twirling around his own counters and blocking. She went back to back with Hisagi after a while to defend from several attacks by Kira. Several times she stepped in front of him to block attacks from the 3rd Seat. She still hadn't bothered to learn his name. She landed several blows on Kira and the 3rd Seat, and even received a few on herself. However, she never let Hisagi take a single hit. Her technique and skill were quite amazing, and it was obvious she had been training for a very long time.

"Point." She said, swiftly knocking Kira down and pressing her wooden sword up against Kira's neck. "That's our win." She smiled and sat down, leaning against Kira with a sigh. She pushed up her sleeves to let her arms feel the air. She could feel the bruises starting to form, and her muscles were aching from the stiff workout from before.

"That was fun." She laughed, unaware of the many stares she was getting. Kira avoided looking at her, not exactly sure how to react with her over familiar gesture. Hanako felt his lean muscles tense and suppressed the urge to run her fingers over his arms to feel just how strong he was.

"Good job Hisagi." She smiled. She touched her zanpakuto and a cool breeze overcame them. She exhaled quietly in relief as she felt the wind blow her hair away from her sweaty neck.

"Uh, yeah, you too. How come I never took a hit?" he asked, confused. It was impossible to never take one hit, and he knew Kira was every bit as good as him at swordplay. He definitely wasn't good enough to block blows from both him and the 3rd Seat. Even with Hanako there, she wasn't possibly fast enough to watch both of their backs at the same time. He also noticed that Kira seemed to have taken a few blows, but he didn't seem to have anything serious, even though the 3rd Seat and Hanako herself had some rather amazing bruises already forming along her arms and even one on her neck.

"I was watching out for you." She said with a trusting smile. She gave a tired sigh and stood up, leaving Kira sitting on the ground with a rather surprised expression on his face. She extended her hand towards Hisagi, and he took is and stood up.

"Rika? Can you please announce which teams made it?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with exhilaration.

"Uh, yeah." Rika listed off the names of the people in about 15 teams. Hanako put the look of someone listening intently on her face, but was in actuality not listening until silence registered in her ears.

"Congratulations to those of you who managed to cooperate, it's real feat, especially when there is so much prejudice! The rest of you will come here tomorrow at the same time and do it again." Hanako leapt up and addressed the Shinigami. She sighed heavily. What a pain, she was going to have to oversee some more training tomorrow. "Those of you who passed are excused from your duties from the rest of your duties for today. I want those who didn't to remain in their teams and patrol."

"Kira, your form is good but you continually give up opportunities to attack. If you were just a little bit more aggressive you would be a lot better." Hanako advised Kira, reaching down a hand to pull him up. He reluctantly took it and felt himself being hoisted up by a rather strong grip. By the time he looked over at his captain she was already at the far edge of the stage, grabbing some water.

Hanako stared blankly at the water before her, her eyes completely unfocused. She could feel the eyes of Kira on her, and someone else. She sighed. She really didn't want to deal with him right now. A familiar tightening appeared in her chest.

"Time to go to the fourth division…" she muttered, standing up looking over the direction of the 4th Squad Station.

"Why is that?" she heard, and she whirled around to face who it was. Her heart immediately sank. Not him.

"It doesn't really matter." She smiled at Byakuya, although her apparent joy didn't reach her eyes. They whirled with exhaustion and pain. She felt her throat tightening and her breathing speeding up slightly, getting more urgent. She suppressed it, not wanting to give herself away. She didn't know what she would do if he saw her weakness.

"Come on! Just tell us!" Renji stepped forward insistently. Hanako took a step back and felt her foot twist around painfully. To her surprise, she started falling off the platform. Her eyes widened in surprise and she suppressed a shocked cry. Just as she was sure she was going to hit the ground a strong hand caught her arm and her eyes barely followed the movements that saved her from the ground. Very suddenly, at least to Renji and Kira's eyes, she was in Byakuya's arms, one arm under her back to support her and the other under the crook of her legs. She blinked at him with surprise, unable to say anything. She was disappointed to see his expression was still passive. She hadn't seen him in 50 years and she couldn't even get one of the small smiles she used to – and still did – treasure so much.

"You don't look well, Taichou!" Kira called, flashing over. She stared at him blankly, as if unable to understand his words. Her face had paled considerably, and, if it was even possible, it was getting paler.

"Bya-chan…" she muttered softly, looking up at his pale face, her eyes travelling slowly over his sharp features. But her voice came out ragged and worn. Byakuya's eye twitched. Must she call him by that damn nickname in front of everyone? She smiled weakly and glanced once again in the direction of the 4th Squad Station. Byakuya followed her gaze and immediately knew what she was thinking.

"I will be return shortly." He said coldly, not bothering to explain. He shunpoed in the direction of the 4th Squad Station, glancing down worriedly at Hanako. She had been sick the other day. Was this maybe a continuation? What she had said had obviously been a lie, but he had never seen any sign of it before. Could it have something to do with that mask she had mentioned? Hanako saw the flicker of emotion on his face and sighed in relief.

She was treated right away. Kotetsu-Fukutaichou seemed to know exactly how to treat her, and seemed to be completely used to it, a fact that puzzled Byakuya. Her breathing became easier as her eyes became heavier. Hanako eventually passed out, exhausted at the effort to hold back whatever it is that ailed her.

"How did you know to bring her here, Kuchiki Taichou?" Isane asked, putting a hand to Hanako's cheek to check her temperature. Byakuya looked down at her flushed face, wondering just what had happened.

"She told me about her condition." He stated. A lie, but maybe now he would know what was going on. Isane looked up at him with a slight smile.

"Yes, very unfortunate. It is amazing how like Ukitake-taichou she is, isn't it? Their conditions are so similar. But Unohana-Taichou, Kyouraku-Taichou, Ukitake-Taichou and Kurotsuchi-Taichou seem to believe there is a different reason for her attacks. I seem to recall they are the only ones who know about it, other than Nemu-san and yourself. And of course Sou-Taichou. Oh, and I believe that Ichimaru-Taichou knew something as well…." Isane blabbed willingly, telling him everything he wanted and more. But Ichimaru Gin? That didn't make sense.

"Why the hell are you talking so much…" Hanako muttered, looking at Isane. "Isa-chan, why am I here? Last I remembered, I was with…" she glanced at Byakuya and turned very pale.

"Yes, since you told him about your condition, he knew to bring you here." Isane smiled unknowingly, clearly happy with Hanako's decision. "It's good that you've opened up a little bit, Hanako-chan!" Hanako's eye twitched.

"You told him." She stated. It was obviously not a question, and everyone in the entire building felt Hanako's Reiatsu seethe and then disappear altogether. Cold fury blazed in her eyes as she glared at Byakuya.

"H-Hanako?" Isane stepped back, unaware she had just completely ripped apart Hanako's pride. Hanako threw a compassionate glance at her, before looking back at Byakuya.

"Byakuya." Hanakogrowled, her voice filled with disgust. But Byakuya saw behind her mask. She was embarrassed, very much so. "I thought I told you to stay out of my business." She hissed, averting her eyes she knew he could read too easily. Byakuya remained quiet, not sure exactly what to say.

"H-Hanako, your condition is still unstable, you shouldn't be-" Isane stopped talking when Hanako sent a furious glare to her and then quickly shunpoed out.

* * *

"Zaraki!" Hanako shrieked, tearing through the 11th Division battlegrounds like a tornado. Her Reiatsu stirred the wind around the area, causing great gusts to batter the area around her.

"Whoa! What the hell did he do this time?" Hanako ignored the many mutterings of the fallen 11th Division members. She was too embarrassed, and angry, to care. She needed something to distract her, a battle high, or pain, maybe.

"Hana-chan!" Yachiru bounced in from the other room. "Do you have any candy?" she asked excitedly, bouncing over to her. Hanako roughly moved past her into the room. Yachiru smiled devilishly, knowing Kenpachi would be very amused by the battle that would take place.

"Fight me." Hanako slammed her hand on the desk he sat beside, easily breaking the old, splintered wood in two. Heaps of paperwork surrounded Zaraki, but he was merely using one stack, and as a pillow. He grinned up at Hanako and stood up, now towering over her.

"Why the hell are you so mad?" Zaraki asked, but Hanako knew that she already had his attention. The excited gleam in his eye told he would be excited for this match. Hanako resisted the urge to tremble. She had forgotten how intimidating he could be.

"Move your asses!" Hanako yelled, storming through the training room and out into a field. She drew not one, but two zanpakuto. The shorter one was black, with a white wolf running up the blade, and the other a pure white, with a black dragon lunging ferociously at an unseen enemy near the tip of the blade. Zaraki grinned and brought out his own sword, with its rough, chipped blade. Hanako could feel her two zanpakuto tremble at the thought of clashing with the shrieking blade. It was so clearly in pain, and unable to form a connection with its master.

The fight was animalistic. The field was filled with such an intense clashing of the ferocious Reiatsu that some of the 11th Division members passed out. The fight was fairly even. Hanako would make several rapid attacks, and quick counterattacks. Zaraki would make powerful swings, as both an offensive and a defensive. He would attack and defend in one blow. Hanako would avoid, Zaraki would just raise a blade. Several hits had been landed, but none of them serious. Anyone with a more practiced eye would be able to tell that Zaraki was letting Hanako blow off steam.

Hanako's Reiatsu was obvious to all in the Seireitei. The anger was evident in her Reiatsu. Naturally, Byakuya felt responsible and started to make his way over to stop the fighting. He didn't really want her to do anything abnormally rash.

"Damn that bastard." Hanako huffed, at a break in the battle. She glared at Zaraki warily, waiting his next move. Zaraki grimaced at what he knew he would have to ask. It was always something with that guy.

"What'd he do?" Zaraki asked, suddenly moving forward and swinging his rough sword down upon Hanako powerfully. Hanako brought up her blades in an X to easily stop the attack, and quickly counter-attacked. Zaraki took the blows with ease.

"You know him…" Hanako muttered, eyeing him warily. She circled around him carefully, her breathing coming quickly. She hadn't fought like this in quite a while. She needed to resume her daily training to maintain her skills. If she got soft, she wouldn't be of any use to anyone.

"Are you already gettin' tired?" he taunted, taking slow steps towards her.

"Never!" Hanako spat, and shunpoed circles around him, attacking from all angles and then just as suddenly coming to a stop. Several new cuts appeared on Zaraki's body, but none of them were really that bad, and none of them bled more than a tiny trickle. It took a moment for everyone to see her where she really was, stopped with Zaraki's blade run through her stomach, sticking brutally through the other side. Hanako grimaced in pain and looked up into his eyes.

"Good match." She gasped before blood exploded out of her wound, coating her and Zaraki with the crimson liquid. Her eye, which had been lit up with a crazy gleam, lusting for the battle, quickly became thoughtful and guarded once more. Her swords lost their dangerous luster as they fell out of her limp hands and merged into one as the clattered on the ground, leaving a long, silver katana.

"You always go too far." Zaraki growled simply. He withdrew his sword from her side, watching as the other end came out from behind her back. He did it carefully, so he wouldn't damage her any more. As soon as he finished ridding his blade of her blood, she leaned over and picked up her zanpakuto carefully. She stuck it into the ground to get herself to stand up on shaky legs.

"Never a match for you in a straight fight." She coughed out, flashing out and simultaneously sheathing her zanpakuto. Byakuya arrived just as she left, just in time to watch Zaraki's Reiatsu decrease as he calmed down. A spray of blood exploded from the lacerations caused by Hanako on his arms and torso. Some of them were bleeding quite a bit. Zaraki sat down and leaned on his bloody sword.

"Dumbass, you are almost as good." Zaraki muttered and looked up at the clear sky. Byakuya sighed and attempted to locate Hanako's Reiatsu. He couldn't feel it. Frustrated, he widened his scope of view. Even after her time in the Patrol Corps, she couldn't possibly hide from him.

* * *

Hanako shrieked and attacked the hollow, her eyes filled with bloodlust. It wouldn't be much longer before she lost it now, she knew it. She was going to control the damn thing inside her. Then she wouldn't be so weak. Then she wouldn't have to be in fear of its oppressive hold. She quickly killed the hollow and began on the next one, killing it with ease. Her swords were now the same lengths, lashing out repeatedly. Her favorite method of fighting. While using a Wakizashi and a long katana, a Daisho set, was a nice style, it was Ukitake's style, not hers. She felt her inner self pushing out of her, desperate to be free. The round of coughing didn't come this time since she didn't suppress it. She could feel it finally break through her defenses. _Now_ she could lose control.

Byakuya sensed a faint surge of Hanako's Reiatsu. It wasn't a familiar feeling she was omitting. But he still recognized it. It was the feeling of someone who had just been pushed over their limit. It was a wonder her Reiatsu didn't reach the Seireitei. Byakuya made his way over to her as fast as he could.

"Time to come out." Hanako's inner self claimed her mouth. Her delicate features were twisted into a cruel, uncharacteristic smile. Hanako could feel herself losing control quickly. It began with her head, and extended into her consciousness. She let it take over without a fight. She would regret it later, but for now, all she could hope to do was get rid of this horrible humiliation. She soon lost control of her hands, and the second she did, one of them was over her face, materializing a slim white mask over her face, marked with crude green stripes on the edges. Hanako let loose a ferocious, animalistic howl as her pupils turned gold and the whites of her eyes turned black. She had completed her hollowification.

Byakuya barely made it in time to see her last scrap of sanity thrown away. She was on a killing spree. He now knew what that mask she had been mentioned was. Her movements were much faster and her Reiatsu was visibly pouring out of her in dark green waves, her two swords at the same length, for once. Byakuya watched as she brutally killed every hollow within her sights. And then she set her sights on him. The object of her rage.

"FOOL!" Hanako's Hollow self laughed, launching her body at him with an untraceable speed. But Hanako, however fast and good at fighting she was, was predictable to Byakuya, who had watched her fighting many times. The fact that he was calm and she was acting on rage also helped a lot. He easily blocked her first attack, made with a pure black sword, and then her second, with the white one. Byakuya slammed the butt of his sword into Hanako's mask as hard as he could.

Large, extensive cracks appeared in her mask. They spread quickly, and then suddenly, it shattered. Her eyes regained their original color. She looked at him with complete shock. Dread filled her heart as she realized something. The look of a condemned woman came over her.

Byakuya Kuchiki had just found out she was a Vizard.

* * *

**Alright, so if your reading this, than you obviously read up to here. Which means you liked it enough to (At least) read to here. So if you want to read more, REVIEW! I need input! And hopefully some constructive critism. **


	5. Flashback 4 and Loneliness

**And... I'm back! :D So here's the next chapter... Not much happens in it, sadly. It's more about the flashback in this one than the others. Hope you like it ^^**

**Bleach (c) to Tite Kubo**

* * *

"_Shinji-Taichou, where are we going?" asked the little girl, her messy, light brown hair falling around her face. Her green eyes looked expectantly up at the man, who was wearing his Haori proudly. The little girl could see the symbol for the 5__th__ Division on it._

"_Hanako-san, please, don't come with us, it could be dangerous." Shinji smiled, his long hair waving in the slight breeze as he walked towards his destination._

"_I can take care of myself, Shinji-taichou." Hanako replied indignantly. Her appearance was young, that of a child that looked to be 7 or 8. Her eyes followed the man trustingly. And although she looked very young, she was wearing a Shihakusho. There was a small Wakizashi zanpakuto at her side that was exactly 11 inches in length. Her Reiatsu was suppressed, but rough and unrefined, it took a lot of practice to keep Reiatsu under control, and she was only 14 years of age at the moment. She had entered the Shinto Academy on her first try, and had quickly advanced through the courses in about a year and a half. A prodigy, they called her. She was always being compared to Ichimaru Gin, who was the 3__rd__ Seat in the very squad she belonged to. She was Hanako. She didn't have a last name, and she liked it that way. She was currently the 4__th__ Seat of the 5__th__ Division._

"_We are almost there" she heard Rose, the Captain of the 3__rd__ Division say. A sudden screech caught them off guard. With horror, Hanako gaped at the sight before her. Several bodies were strewn around the area, but one sight dominated her vision. There was a Shinigami with a hollow mask on it's face!_

"_What is that!" she hissed, looking over at Shinji. Shinji shook his head and took to attacking. Hanako followed his lead, drawing out her zanpakuto and darting under Rose to attack another masked Shinigami._

"_Hanako! Look out!" she heard Rose yell. Hanako felt something sharp hit the back of her neck and everything suddenly went black._

_Hanako couldn't see, but she could feel. It was an eternity. The mad, desperate desire in her to kill was frightening. She would attack everyone in her way. She could feel her body attacking, feel pain in her muscles. But whatever had control of her, as she knew it was definitely not her, seemed to be paying no attention to her body's needs. Then, very much like before, the awareness she had suddenly stopped._

"_Wake up! Hanako-yonseki?" she heard. She opened her eyes to stare at the white-haired man staring down intently at her. Looking at him blankly, she made no attempt to move or ask questions._

"_Your still alive, somehow." He said carefully, taking in her confused expression. The poor girl had lost not only her captain, whom it was no secret to everyone that she was particularly fond of, but also Rose, the 3__rd__ squad Taichou, whom she had also been close with. She had a way with the captains, it seemed, since she was rather close to most of them._

"_Who are you?" she asked quietly._

"_Ukitake Jushiro." He said, clearly confused. Hadn't she remembered him? She was notorious for remembering everyone who had ever introduced themselves to her. She stared at him nonchalantly._

"_Oh. Who am I?" she asked curiously "Am… Am I Hanako?" she asked. A lot of images were flowing through her head at the moment. She couldn't make sense of them. She remembered seeing his face before. She remembered he was a kind man, but she didn't know much else._

"_Yeah, are you okay? Do you remember what happened?" Ukitake asked. Now he was concerned. _

"_T-The blonde man… With the straight blonde hair…" Hanako struggled to recall the images. "He… He protected me. And… The other man, with the wavy hair, he was there too… And the Taichou with the Pink hair. There was a lot of death… And a mask…" Hanako glanced at Ukitake. Her face paled considerably as a wave of nausea hit her. Choosing the darkness over the pain, Hanako closed her eyes and fell back into unconsciousness._

"B-Bya-chan…" Hanako gasped. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not bothering to cover up the shock on her face.

"Your Reiatsu was here, and I knew you had been hurt." Byakuya said coldly. Hanako could see him working out what he had just seen.

"Don't tell." She said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Please, I want to make it up to everyone for leaving!"

"I will not break the rules." The phrase she had been dreading came out of his mouth. So he was going to tell, then? Why did it have to be him? He was, of course, going to report her, effectively ending her career.

"Well…"Hanako trailed off, seeing the expression on his face. She wasn't going to help herself if she begged him, she could tell.

"I will consider it." He said, before coldly turning around and leaving Hanako. Hanako crouched down and clamped one hand to her wound, and the other caressing her face where he had hit her. No doubt there would be a big bruise there later. But the wound in her side was nasty. It reminded her of a time back when she was training… If Gin hadn't been there to patch her up, Unohana said she would have died.

"Hana, you need to take better care of yourself." Unohana said suddenly, jolting Hanako out of her thoughts. Hanako looked at her guiltily. Well, it wasn't _really_ her fault.

"You do this every time…" she sighed, and stepped towards Hanako to see to her wounds. Hanako let herself be treated. It felt nostalgic, being treated this way. It was almost soothing.

"Taichou!" Kira yelled out, finally arriving. Hanako couldn't help but noticed how flushed and out of breath he was. Ukitake and Kyouraku weren't far behind, followed by Zaraki, who looked like had literally been forced to go with them.

"What happened to you, Zaraki?" Hanako glanced over at him nonchalantly, looking at the many wounds on him.

"You happened, pipsqueak." He grinned at her. Hanako gave a self-satisfied smile in return. At least she knew she was good enough to make at least a few good hits now. Unlike before, when he had taken her out fairly quickly, or sometime later when although she was able to last a long time, she hadn't been able to inflict any wounds on him really.

"Hanako! What did you do?" Ukitake questioned her seriously, an overly worried expression on his face. Hanako sighed and turned her attention to the older man.

"Nothing serious. I've seen worse." She grumbled, ignoring the strange look Kyouraku was giving her.

"What the hell happened to all these hollows?" Zaraki questioned, looking around at the blood-soaked ground. Ukitake, Kyouraku, and Unohana kept quiet, as if they all knew something he didn't. Which, of course, pissed him off.

"Oi, Pipsqueak, is there something I should know?" Zaraki questioned, a dangerous gleam in his eye. Hanako sighed.

"Taichou, what happened?" Kira asked, a little gentler than Zaraki. She looked so pale to him. Was it just him, or was her face slightly swollen as well?

"Nothing, just needed to unleash some anger…" Hanako felt bad lying to them, but it had to be done all the same. And why were Sensei, K-sensei, and Unohana being so damn quiet, anyways? They knew something, she really didn't like that look.

"That's a helluva lotta anger." Zaraki observed, looking at the decimated hollows, some of which weren't even dead, just beaten within an inch of life. "I'm damn proud of you, heh…"

"Yeah, well, you know me, I'm emotional." Hanako rolled her eyes at his coarse language. Not that it didn't come out when she got mad, but his language came out even when he wasn't mad. Or maybe he was just always mad.

"K-Sensei…. I need you to tell Kira to do the paperwork tomorrow." She looked up at Kyouraku with a laugh in her eyes. Kira's eyes opened wide.

"Oh? Kira, Hanako wanted me to tell you that you have to do the paperwork tomorrow." Kyouraku tipped his hat in Kira's direction.

"Taichou! Why can't you just tell me yourself?" Kira asked, a little hurt. Hanako laughed.

"I guess you're still gonna get mad if I don't tell you directly… Damn." Hanako sighed and sat up, glancing at Kira. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to get a drink." she declared. She staggered past Kira and shunpoed out. Ukitake and Kyouraku exchanged looks, but neither made a move to go get her.

"I'll go with her." Kira muttered to them and quickly followed his captain. He followed her and watched her stop mid-step. She stumbled to the ground and walked over to a silver-haired figure.

"Gin-taichou…" Kira whispered. Hanako glanced back straight where he was hiding. She knew he was there.

"Gin." Hanako said softly. It wasn't a statement, or a question, but an invitation. She hoped Kira was going away. But she didn't see him leaving, so he must still be there.

"Hanako-chan!" Gin smiled, his familiar smirk appearing. Hanako looked at him carefully. He wasn't here to play games, was he?

"Why are you here?" she asked, watching him. She couldn't keep her voice hard though. She knew she was still soft when it came to him.

"I fel' ya release yer hollow form. Bu' is tha' a question ya should be askin' an ol' friend?" he said casually, inching closer.

"You knew?" she asked, shocked.

"Of course." His grin turned mocking. "I know everything about my Hanako-chan."

"… Then you'd know that I don't want you here." Hanako hissed, averting her eyes. The pain in them was too obvious. He couldn't see her weakness.

"Awww, c'mon, that's a lie… How 'bout we continue what we were doin' the other night?" he asked, his taunting tone luring Hanako in. Hanako took a step towards him. He was still the same as always, either way, right?

"N-no!" Hanako flinched away, infuriated by her thoughts. He was a traitor!

"Yer right, we'd get interrupted here." Gin shot a nasty glance towards Kira, "See ya later, Hana-chan." He grinned deeper at Hanako and left on that promise, which Hanako had no doubts he would be keeping.

"Kira!" Hanako couldn't suppress her angry cry. Kira flashed to where his Taichou was staring, shocked, at the spot where Gin had been standing. She was pale, very pale, which probably had something to do with her wound as well as her latest encounter with Gin.

"Taichou! Are you okay?" Kira asked, crouching by his captain and putting a hand on her shoulder. She stared blankly at the hand before looking up at Kira.

"Take me home…" she trembled, throwing her arms around him and pressing herself up against him. He was there. He was real. Kira was there. She needed him to be.

"I don't know where you live." He said gently, picking her up. His compassionate look was all that Hanako needed.

"I don't care…" Hanako muttered, "Take me to your house then. I don't want to be alone." She couldn't keep the fear out of her voice. She didn't want Gin to appear, not again.

"Uh…My house is messy, so…." Kira trailed off hesitantly. Hanako smiled a bit, but the gesture was false, tense, just a formality.

"My house is that way…" Hanako raised her hand and pointed in the direction of her house. He immediately shunpoed in the direction she was indicating.

"Taichou, are you sure about this?" Kira asked, looking down at her. "About me being at your house, I mean."

"Of course!" she smiled deviously. She looked away from him, towards her house. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him follow her gaze. Kira kept going in that direction until he reached a large house. It was traditional, and surrounded by a large lake. There were several bridges surrounded it, and several other houses on the lake.

"This is it!" she exclaimed, twisting her body to get a better look. Kira staggered and struggled to keep her in his arms. It wouldn't be good to drop her here. Kira flashed to the front door.

"Here, take this and keep it, I have a feeling you might need it." Hanako gave him a small key. Kira turned a little red as he took the key. Hanako gave him a sly grin and watched him unlock the door. He turned sideways and slid through the door, kicking it shut on his way in.

"Where's your room?" he asked, looking around his rich surroundings. It had a surprising class that he would not have expected from Hanako.

"Upstairs. It's basically the entire second floor." She smiled and pointed to a wide staircase. Kira immediately carried her up it. It was fairly basic, a simple room with a large white bed in the middle. Thick curtains covered the windows. Kira set her down on the bed, and she immediately laid back and stared up at the ceiling.

"So, do you think you could get me some tea or something?" Hanako asked after a while. Her gaze travelled around the room. She hadn't been here in so long.

"Um… Sure." Kira mumbled. He turned red as he suddenly realized he was alone in a secluded house with his wounded captain. This definitely wouldn't look good later. "Where do you keep it?" he asked nervously.

"Um… There should be some downstairs in the kitchen cabinet." She smiled and carefully sat up, withholding a cry of pain as her stomach was filled with a searing pain. She quickly drew in a breath and held it there. She bit her lip hard, distracting her from the pain with a different pain. She felt a salty taste enter her mouth and realized she had bit a little too hard. Her eyes followed him out of the room until he disappeared from sight. She took a shuddering breath and sighed.

"Taichou, uh, maybe you should take a little break." Kira suggested some time later, appearing at the top of the stairway. In his hands he held two steaming cups of tea. He sat on the bed next to Hanako and handed her one of the cups.

"What do you mean?" Hanako asked, blowing softly onto the hot liquid before taking a small sip. The bitter-sweet tea cleared her mouth of the taste of blood. She gave a long sigh of relief and leaned her head against Kira's shoulder. She stifled a yawn. She felt so tired, her body was so heavy and sluggish.

"Maybe you should go to the world of the living…" Kira mumbled, turning slightly red at his Captains' familiar touch.

"I don't wanna see Shinji-taichou." She mumbled, half asleep. They sat in silence for ten minutes, sipping their tea and thinking to themselves. Hanako finished her tea and set it down next to her quietly. She closed her eyes for a second, and breathed in Kira's scent. It was sweet, but manly. It kind of made her head spin.

"Taichou, I think we should." Kira said firmly. He looked down at her and his eyes went wide. Her breathing was even, taken in slow, deep breaths. Her eyes were closed, and she was practically curled up on his lap. He stared at her a minute, unsure what to do. He put an arm around her back and slowly let her down onto the bed, careful not to wake her. But she was awoken anyways by his footstep.

"Stay…" she mumbled sleepily, her hand holding tightly to his Shihakusho.

"W-What? Where am I supposed to sleep?" he asked carefully. He blushed furiously. Hanako opened her eyes and dragged him onto the bed.

"Sleep here…" she said, frowning. Wasn't it obvious? She curled up close to him and almost immediately fell asleep. He stared down at her and sighed. He obviously wasn't getting out of this.

Kira felt her press herself closer and closer to him as the night went on. He didn't dare to fall asleep. He wouldn't be able to anyways, his entire being was focused on Hanako's shivering body.


	6. Flachback 5 and Vulnerability

Wow, guys, I am soooooo sorry this took forevor! Well, I hope you like it... And I want your opinion. Should Hanako fall in love with someone (If so, here are the choices: Byakuya, Kira, Ukitake, or Gin) or not? And also, please R&R! :D Thanks for reading guys and any constructive criticism or positive feedback would be great! :)

Bleach © to Tite Kubo, and Hanako is mine.

* * *

114 Years Ago

"_Kuchiki-san?" Hanako called out tentatively. She leaned against the pillar and peeked into the next room. Sitting inside by a low table sat the young noble, still with the appearance of a small boy. Hanako herself only looked 11._

"_Sakamoto, come in!" Byakuya called out to her. He noticed her looking and gave her a smile._

"_Can't you ever call me Hanako?" Hanako teased him and returning his smile with a grin of her own. She enjoyed seeing his smile widen as she sat next to him._

"_Hanako, how are you?" Byakuya asked, making his face relax out of it's smile. Hanako sighed and took a cup of tea._

"_I'm bored…" she looked at him slyly, "Do you want to play tag with me?" she took a small sip of the tea and then placed it back on the smooth table. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she looked eagerly at the boy next to her. Her back was starting to hurt. Staying in this stiff position for too long hurt her back. She would never be suited for the life of a noble, no matter how much Byakuya helped her learn customs._

"_But I always win." Byakuya sighed, setting his own teacup down. He stood up and offered Hanako his hand._

"_I've been practicing!" she took his hand and felt him pull her up. He really was very strong._

"_We'll see about that!" Byakuya challenged. He didn't let go of her hand as he led her out into the beautiful Kuchiki Estate gardens. Hanako blushed slightly at his gentle hold, but made no move to get away._

"_You be it." Hanako grinned and flashed away from him, suddenly missing the warmth of his hand. Moving fast made the chilly air seem even colder._

"_You _have_ gotten faster!" Byakuya called out to her. He was a little ways behind her, but he was gaining slowly. Hanako grit her teeth and pushed herself faster. It worked for a while, she managed to avoid him for about 5 minutes. And then he was suddenly right in front of her._

"_Got you." Byakuya laughed at Hanako's stunned expression. Hanako stumbled into him and they both fell to the ground._

"_B-But you were- You were back there! I was going too fast…" she mumbled. How could he have possibly gotten her? She flopped on her back and looked at the sky._

"_I predicted your moves. Your predictable, Hanako." Byakuya grinned at her and sat up, looking down at her perplexed expression._

"_Oh… I guess I have to work on that! Hey… Can I call you Bya-chan?" Hanako asked, smiling up at him. She lifter her hand and placed it on his shoulder._

"_Never in public. Hanako-chan." Byakuya grinned at her. Hanako's eyes widened._

"_You're the best, Bya-chan!" She laughed and sat up, hugging him tightly. He gasped and then hugged her back a little awkwardly._

"_Sakamoto. Let's go."Hanako and Byakuya leapt apart at the command. Hanako whimpered in fear and glanced submissively at the person looming over her. _

"_Hanako, who is this?"Byakuya stood in front of her, shielding her from his glare. She clutched the back of his robes so tight her fingers turned white, but despite that her fists were shaking. Byakuya scowled at the man before him. What had he done to her to make this usually fearless girl cower?_

"_T-T-Takashi-s-sama…" Hanako whispered._

"_Come. It is time for the experiment." Takashi reached a hand out and roughly dragging Hanako away from Byakuya. She glanced at Byakuya and let herself be pulled away._

"_Experiment?" Byakuya asked coldly, glaring at Takashi._

"_Didn't she tell you?"Takashi smiled cruelly and yanked open her kimono, revealing taught bandages around her chest._

"_What are you doing!" Byakuya gasped in shock as Takashi drew a knife. He made to stop him as the knife sliced down and cut through the bandages, but didn't his hand didn't move fast enough to stop Takeshi, who was using some form of a Shunpo._

"_This is her mark. She belongs to me." Hanako didn't say a word as Byakuya's jaw dropped open._

_On her chest were ugly red scars carved crudely by a knife depicting the characters for "Subject 11."_

Hanako blinked a few times. The world slowly came into focus. Good. For a second there she thought that the dream was real. Her eyes widened and she carefully sat up and looked around. What was she doing home? She felt someone stir behind her and looked down at him. It was Kira. A confused expression came over her face. She didn't!

"K-Kira?" she whispered, reluctantly reaching down and shaking him lightly. She turned red at the contact, but didn't withdraw her hand.

"Taichou…" Kira mumbled and his eyes opened. He turned pink as he realized they were alone, in a secluded house, in the same bed. He shot out of the bed and bowed hastily to the floor. "Sorry, Taichou! I don't know what I was thinking, I was just…" Kira trailed off, looking up to see her laughing.

"Kira, it's okay, I probably asked you to. I hate sleeping alone." Images of a certain dark man came into her head and her smile fell. "Anyways, I look like a mess…" Hanako walked into the next room and left Kira sitting on the bed for a whole five minutes. He went over everything that had happened that evening and turned redder and redder.

"Kira, just forget this ever happened, okay?" Hanako requested as she walked back into the room. She was now dressed in the regular attire of a Shinigami. She walked over to the drawer and withdrew her haori from it. As she slipped it on, she walked over to Kira.

"Um, Taichou?" Kira questioned as Hanako came closer.

"Kira, your hair is all messy." Hanako sighed, and knelt beside him on the bed. She ran her fingers through his hair and gently untangled some of the small snags in it with her small fingers. She smiled softly as she saw him slowly turn red. When she was finished, the pointed him to the bathroom. "Do whatever you need in there." She smiled and went to the mirror at the side of her room to fix up her own hair. Today she chose to let most of it hang down, with the exception of the hair that was always in her face, which she pulled into a bun secured by two black and white chopsticks, with the images of a dragon and a wolf snarling at each other.

"Let's go." Hanako smiled and practically dragged Kira out of the house.

"Hanako, Kira-fukutaichou is right. You should go to the living world." Yamamoto rasped. Even though he was old and looked frail his voice emanated power. Hanako bowed her head submissively. She had already lost this battle before it had started.

"Hai, Yama-sensei." Hanako muttered. She bowed again and backed out of the room, not throwing a single glance Kira's way.

"Hanako, it will be good for you." Sasakibe Chojiro commented respectfully, following her out of the Sou-Taichou's office at a slight distance. Hanako glanced behind her at the older man, knowing a slight smile played across her features.

"Chojiro-kun, I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful, but I did just become the captain of my squad, I wasn't thinking about myself, but of the squad." Hanako looked back in front of her. After a few minutes she came to a stop and turned around to face Chojiro, a little annoyed at his sudden silence.

"Hanako, there isn't an easy way to say this, I'm afraid, but if you don't get a hold of your emotions you are just going to hold yourself and your squad back. It is best for everyone if you just go for a few days and collect yourself." Chojiro looked calmly at Hanako. Hanako opened her mouth to protest but found she couldn't. It was absolutely true what he was saying.

"Oh." She managed to get out, and she turned around and continued walking. She heard Chojiro's footsteps continue behind her. "Chojiro-kun." She began softly, consciously matching her footsteps to his. "Why are you following me?"

"Yamamoto-Soutaichou asked me to make sure you were doing what was asked quickly, and not evading your duties." Hanako hesitated before the next step.

"I don't need a baby-sitter, even if it is you." Hanako growled, continuing. She sped up her footsteps so that Chojiro had to speed up as well.

"Hanako-" Chojiro began, but was interrupted by Hanako.

"Save it, Sasakibe-fukutaicho." Hanako's voice was hard. Hanako looked to her side as Chojiro sped up to stand next to her.

"Please don't do anything rash." Chojiro sighed. Hanako nodded absently. After a few more minutes of silence Hanako stopped next to her Squad offices building, which also contained her temporary quarters, if she ever needed them.

"Please don't feel any reservations about coming in." she smiled tentatively to him and walked through the door. She led him to the end of the first hall and opened the last door on the left. She stepped into her room and quickly gathered everything she would need, packing it quickly into a pack. She walked past Chojiro, who didn't seem to be paying attention, and sat on her desk, staring absently around the room before her gaze rested on him.

"I see you are ready. Let's go." Chojiro said quietly at her, noticing her looking at him.

"Who is my _chaperone_? Is it you?" Hanako asked sarcastically, walking beside him. As if she needed a chaperone!

"Kuchiki-taichou is to accompany you." Chojiro answered her. Hanako stiffened. Not only did she need a babysitter, but it was Byakuya. Not him…

"Oh." She replied, her voice coming out flat. The rest of their walk to the Senkaimon was made in silence.

"Hanako." Byakuya said as they neared the Senkaimon gate.

"Bya-chan!" Hanako put on a grin and bounced over to him. "Thanks for not telling." She said quietly with a tight smile.

"You'd better behave yourself." He threatened, softly so that Chojiro couldn't hear. Hanako opened her mouth to reply but Byakuya had already turned away to address the Gate keepers.

"Hanako? Is something wrong?" Chojiro asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder and making her jump.

"N-No, sorry!" she sighed and watched the gate keepers open the gate. "See ya later Chojiro-kun!" Hanako's smile faded the second she turned away from him, and she walked coldly past Byakuya and through the gate, into the Dangai Precipice World. _Two can play this game_ she thought, a little sadly, as she remembered a time when they used to share everything. Or at least that's what she had thought.


End file.
